We've figured out something because our oldest has been having diarrhea--almost all the meat catfood is made with chicken plus flavoring--including Wellness, which is supposed to be a premium food--Turkey is really chicken with turkey flavoring, salmon and turkey, the same. And we figured out that he is allergic to chicken!

So we have been trying some other brands that actually are other meats (venison, rabbit etc, and some food that includes green pea) and we think we have him back on track.

"A man is judged by the company he keeps, and a company is judged by the men it keeps, and the people of Democratic nations are judged by the type and caliber of officers they elect."
William J.H. Boetcker

All kittens climb, and all kittens climb people. Once they are past the massless stage, this tends to hurt. How to deal with this?

Simple! Act like it hurts, a lot. OW OW OW OW! Every kitten has learned from this that they should not climb people, because it hurts them. The lesson is easy to teach, and easy to learn.

This is NOT the lesson Sula learned.

Scene: the inlaws' kitchen over the holidays. They keep our cats when we do long mtb trips in the summer, but this was the first time Sula was there. First thing I warned of was that Sula very likely would appear on their shoulders at some point, probably on the stairs given the design, so don't freak out.

Time: 3:30am, when MIL was up doing old person things in the kitchen. What, I don't know. It likely involved eating leftover prime rib in her super thick terry robe, knowing her.

MIL finished and decided to go back to bed, turned towards the door out of the kitchen, when Sula ran at her full speed, jumped to her thigh, bounced to her chest/arm junction, then to her shoulder and stopped, purring. To quote, "I just wanted to laugh but I couldn't!" And she had the biggest smile on her face when she said it. She barely felt a thing, because Sula is very light of paw.

Sula learned a lesson from the OW OW OW OW... she learned about clothing thickness. If we try to act hurt when she KNOWS she has not touched our skin, she gives us a look like a 10 year old would give you if you tried to play "got your nose".

All kittens climb, and all kittens climb people. Once they are past the massless stage, this tends to hurt. How to deal with this?

Simple! Act like it hurts, a lot. OW OW OW OW! Every kitten has learned from this that they should not climb people, because it hurts them. The lesson is easy to teach, and easy to learn.

This is NOT the lesson Sula learned.

Scene: the inlaws' kitchen over the holidays. They keep our cats when we do long mtb trips in the summer, but this was the first time Sula was there. First thing I warned of was that Sula very likely would appear on their shoulders at some point, probably on the stairs given the design, so don't freak out.

Time: 3:30am, when MIL was up doing old person things in the kitchen. What, I don't know. It likely involved eating leftover prime rib in her super thick terry robe, knowing her.

MIL finished and decided to go back to bed, turned towards the door out of the kitchen, when Sula ran at her full speed, jumped to her thigh, bounced to her chest/arm junction, then to her shoulder and stopped, purring. To quote, "I just wanted to laugh but I couldn't!" And she had the biggest smile on her face when she said it. She barely felt a thing, because Sula is very light of paw.

Sula learned a lesson from the OW OW OW OW... she learned about clothing thickness. If we try to act hurt when she KNOWS she has not touched our skin, she gives us a look like a 10 year old would give you if you tried to play "got your nose".

great story!!!!

Of course I'm sure...that doesn't mean I'm right.....

"There's no sense being stupid unless you show it."

"that was like trying to teach a goldfish how to play basketball over the phone."

It seems that she has discovered that my beard is wet after a shower. She very much helps out by leaping into my arms (after I get dressed, at least after a couple of times of trying it when I was bare) and helps me by licking under my chin. That's a very hard place to get to, as she well knows. Who wants wet fur? No one! She is very intent and deeply purrs when doing so. This is every single morning, so she now has a very important job to do. It's her first real "job", though I am sure she will take on more as she matures. She's just that kind of cat.

At first, the kitten took to it, but would growl a bit at the others, who just watched. Our old fat cat eventually figured out the fishbowls, but would not get the food out of them until AFTER the kitten had left. Now, everyone plays, but fat cat still waits to do the fishbowls last. All of our cats have gotten better at the games.

And they tend to hang out after the food is gone, just being social. Not only has the kitten gotten the older cats to raise their games, but they are also being far more social in general. Which is a good thing.

Our sad news is that our second oldest Mr. Fred (not the one with the food allergy) succumbed to kidney problems last week. I sort of knew something was up, but was in denial. He had seventeen and half good years with us, and will be missed...

"A man is judged by the company he keeps, and a company is judged by the men it keeps, and the people of Democratic nations are judged by the type and caliber of officers they elect."
William J.H. Boetcker

Our sad news is that our second oldest Mr. Fred (not the one with the food allergy) succumbed to kidney problems last week. I sort of knew something was up, but was in denial. He had seventeen and half good years with us, and will be missed...

So sorry to read this. I've had 2 cats go to kidney disease. 1st one we did not do the under-the-skin-with-fluid injection thing, on the advise of our Vet at the time. 2nd cat I did that for 2 mos., wasn't pretty and now know the 1st Vet had it right.

Good age though, I've a 15-1/2 girl currently, every day is more precious.

@Qui, good to read the updates, you've a good cat their.

FWIW there's a cat on Facebook - Bubba. That famous Calif. high school cat. I follow him, yet dread the day bad news comes.

Our sad news is that our second oldest Mr. Fred (not the one with the food allergy) succumbed to kidney problems last week. I sort of knew something was up, but was in denial. He had seventeen and half good years with us, and will be missed...

My condolences. That was a good run, something like 90 in cat years. Which I only know because our eldest was about that age, and lived a great life until the last two weeks. She had 6 great weeks with the kitten, then not so much. It was hard, given that she was such a great cat, in so many ways. But she was eating donuts and purring when we took her to the vet the last time, so we did what we could. That was four months ago, so I am pretty much to the happy memories stage now. Mostly.

Some might remember demon eyed avatar cat. That was Max.

I am convinced she taught Sula to talk. Not specifically, but taught her the idea of talking to humans in varied ways. Sula came pre-installed with "hungry!" and "I'm all alone!", but Max was a talker, super expressive for a cat. She lives on in Sula in quite a few ways.

Max the sock bane, who was there every morning, and purred us to sleep every night when we went to bed, who checked on us regularly through the day, guarded our perimeter, killed the occasional mouse, took us for walks on the leash, trained many kittens, and was just all around a great cat. RIP Max.

I find cats fascinating especially some of the traits our 15 year old female now exhibits, among them is is howling around the house as if searching for her missing and deceased companions, being that she never made a peep. She also now chirps at us all the time, her talkative moments she learned from her brother/litter mate. She eats scraps on the dining room table, a trait she learned from 2 others but never did herself.

It's almost as if they all communicate to each other in secret code and then carry on traditions established by others.

My condolences. That was a good run, something like 90 in cat years. Which I only know because our eldest was about that age, and lived a great life until the last two weeks. She had 6 great weeks with the kitten, then not so much. It was hard, given that she was such a great cat, in so many ways. But she was eating donuts and purring when we took her to the vet the last time, so we did what we could. That was four months ago, so I am pretty much to the happy memories stage now. Mostly.

Some might remember demon eyed avatar cat. That was Max.

I am convinced she taught Sula to talk. Not specifically, but taught her the idea of talking to humans in varied ways. Sula came pre-installed with "hungry!" and "I'm all alone!", but Max was a talker, super expressive for a cat. She lives on in Sula in quite a few ways.

Max the sock bane, who was there every morning, and purred us to sleep every night when we went to bed, who checked on us regularly through the day, guarded our perimeter, killed the occasional mouse, took us for walks on the leash, trained many kittens, and was just all around a great cat. RIP Max.

Condolences for your loss as well--Max probably waited until you guys were well established with the little one, and could leave in good conscience...

I definitely think the teaching thing is real.

We were retelling the story of Fred's mom Coco giving the kittens a hunting lesson in the kitchen with a near dead mouse in an email (hilarious, except to my wife who was on the counter) to one of the adoptive parents of Fred's siblings.

She replied that Ruby (Fred's sister) was the best mouser she has ever lived with in a lifetime of cats so the lessons were good. And it really seems like our adopted stray has learned the full range of vocalizations for humans since he lived with our bunch, and now has the particular one for 'more food please' down cold.

"A man is judged by the company he keeps, and a company is judged by the men it keeps, and the people of Democratic nations are judged by the type and caliber of officers they elect."
William J.H. Boetcker

Some toys are universal, some are special. Foam covered landscape wire twisted into various shapes are popular in our house. A plastic tube with a tiny bit of red fabric on one end, the remnants of a toy ferret, would show up occasionally for years. But feather on a string is a universally good cat toy.

Sure, feather on a string is a great game. Then we got feather with a BELL on a string, and that sent Sula into a frenzy. She stole one when it arrived, and growled at everyone who approached. This became hers, to do with as she will. She plays with it a lot, in many places. Occasionally she will play fetch for a while with us.

But the actual one we put on the string wand... WOW! She really wanted to kill it kill it, and not just play with it kill it. Crazy high jumps, vocalizing, and just generally full speed action that no one better get in the way of.

And she very quickly started to snag it out of the air every, single time. And fast as she is, I did manage to notice how she did it. She started just waving her paw in front of the feather during her jumps, hitting the string, which would wrap half way around her paw (no more, no less), making it easy to bring in for a bite.

Great thread and photos. Here's to the new. And sadly to those who have left, let their memories live on.

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
Ben Franklin -Tis curious and amazing to observe how distinct and independent of each other the rattles of this animal are, and yet how firmly they are united togetherТОП популярных песен IOWA Лера Яскевич и студия Фасоль

My parents just had to put down their cat Nate who was barely 10 years old. Over the past week his poop had been decreasing in size, and by Friday he wasn't pooping at all. He'd also lost three pounds. The vet discovered a cancerous tumor in his colon said even with surgery and chemo he would only get a few months. If they did nothing, it'd be a couple days.

Yes, Sula was using Tavi's paws as a pillow. They don't always sleep together, but they do. They also just hang out together a lot. Walk into the room one after they other. We've had cats that get along, play, but nothing like this before.

Sula is now no longer a kitten, having passed the one year mark. She will fill in and develop more mentally the next year or two, but she's doing well on all fronts so far. The one thing that really stands out with her, compared to other cats I have known, is that she is very cooperative.

It is said that dogs obey, cats cooperate. If they want. She wants.

For example, we have been taking her outside, on a harness. She quickly learned that she would be stopped if she tried to go under bushes, or outside the yard. We do have sidewalks on two sides, and an alley on the third, so the boundaries are pretty clear. She knows the leash length, she knows she can climb trees to about 8 feet, and she mostly stays within the boundaries.

Keep in mind "walking a cat" really usually means "walking behind the cat wherever the cat wants to go". But Sula will take suggestions. I can walk a bit in a direction, look at her, and say "let's go this way now", and she will. She very much goes with the flow, and works with the people and cats around her.

But what made my jaw drop was something pretty simple. My wife has been making paper flowers. She seems to have a talent for it, and so has taken over space upstairs. Flowers, bits of paper, wire, pipe cleaners, sheets of paper, rolls of paper. Sula gets among these things, but usually leaves them alone. She is respectful of our stuff. So one day....

... I see Sula up on the table, her tail about to go down on a plate full of bits, while my wife was shaping petals. I said "Sula's tail just went on that plate." So she gently lifted Sula's tail, and softly placed it next to the plate.

And Sula's tail stayed there, motionless.

As anyone with cat experience would understand, I was shocked.

She does, btw, expect us to cooperate with her as well. Which is only right to do. That's the foundation of all good relationships after all.

Well, you knew from the get-go that Sula was smart. Nice that she continues to show you how smart.

It took me a while to learn to respect a cats desires. When you respect them and don't make them do things they don't like doing, they in turn will cooperate pretty well. Except for breakfast that's running late and going for a ride in the car.

That is wonder that she is fitting in so well! And such a rare personality for a cat, lol. Normally cooperative and cat don't go hand in hand .

I'm glad you are training her on an harness. Kitties like to get outside too, but of course, need to be kept safe. In all the ones I've had, I've only had one that I was able to walk almost like a dog on a harness. He would follow us, more than we follow him, but it had to be quiet outside. He also did well in a car.

While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions. - Stephen R. Covey.

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
Ben Franklin -Tis curious and amazing to observe how distinct and independent of each other the rattles of this animal are, and yet how firmly they are united togetherТОП популярных песен IOWA Лера Яскевич и студия Фасоль

Well, you knew from the get-go that Sula was smart. Nice that she continues to show you how smart.

This is more an attitude than an aptitude. We've had smart cats before, but they did not cooperate at anything like this level.

Smart cat indicators:

Fast and accurate paw play as kittens. Earlier age for a given level, smarter cat. Faster eye and paw, faster brain. In the old days of tube tvs, smarter cats would ignore the screen because they could track the beam and would not see the image, slower cats would see the image.

Speed of learning things. Smart cats will learn after one time. Very smart cats will learn DURING that one time, in the moment, and adapt on the fly.

There is also kinesthetic intelligence, basically being aware of body though all sorts of disorienting and complex action. Cats that do things upside down and every which way (in control) tend to be smart in other ways. Sula is a freakin' parkour expert! But Max, while very paw adept, liked to remain uninverted. To be fair, we did not have giant cat trees when Max was a kitten, so she really did not have the practice. Going up and down she was fine with but upside down no so much.

A friend was fostering these babies and succumbed to their kitty charms--meet Olive and OtisAttachment 323126

"A man is judged by the company he keeps, and a company is judged by the men it keeps, and the people of Democratic nations are judged by the type and caliber of officers they elect."
William J.H. Boetcker